Butts, Litchert put Henderson in Class AAAA quarterfinals

WEST CHESTER — Everyone knew coming into Wednesday afternnon’s District 1 Class AAAA csecond-round contest between Avon Grove and West Chester Henderson that hits wil be hard to come by.

Throwing for the 22nd-seeded Red Devils (14-9) was Maggie Balint. The freshman ace entered the game with 275 strikeouts in 20 games. The No. 6 Warriors (19-2) countered with Lauren Butts, who simply doesn’t allow earned runs, with an earned run average below 1.00 for the season.

Both pitchers came through.

Balint continued on her torrid strikeout pace setting down 14 Warriors, allowing just four hits. However, Butts mastered the game of “Can You Top This” by tossing a no-hitter, though she only struck out four. Zeroes dominated the scoreboard until left fielder Steph Litchert singled in the gam-winning run in the eighth inning to lift Henderson to a 1-0 victory and a berth in Friday’s quarterfinal against No. 3 Pennsbury.

“I’m really proud it was Steph that came through the way she did,” said Henderson coach Sarah Norris. “She just follows the plan. She knows what she needs to do and does it. Too many kids put too much pressure on themselves, but Steph just stays within herself and doesn’t try to do too much, just what she needs to do.”

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Catcher Heidi McCollister got things going for the Warriors in the home half of the eighth, working a one-out walk. Miranda Mikelson followed with a single up the middle to put runners on first and second. Balint picked up her 14th and final strikeout of the day to make it two outs for Litchert. She delivered the hardest hit ball all day, ripping a ball to the gap in left-center field, well behind the Red Devils’ outfielders and McCollister easily scotted home from second with the winning run.

“I had no idea that was the winning run,” said Litchert. “I was waiting on second base when I heard coach Norris saying it was over.”

Half of Henderson’s four hits came from Litchert, who single up the middle in the second for the first hit of the game, as well as the last. Despite already nicking Balint on the day, it was one of Litchert’s failures that hung on her heading to the plate in the eighth.

“We hadn’t been hitting her at all today,” she said. “It’s hard to believe that girl is only a freshman. But I struck out with runners on the last time I came to the plate, and I just came in with the mindset that I was going to get a hit this time.”

So the power of positive thinking puts Henderson in the quarterfinals.

“One of the goals I had for this team was to make states,” said Butts. “To do that, we have to play Friday and we have to win Friday. It feels great to know we can still reach our goals. Steph was great at the plate today.”

Butts only found herself in one sticky situation all game. In the third, Avon Grove loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman with no one out. The Red Devils, however, couldn’t convert the chance, going down on a sacrifice, a popped up bunt attempt caught by McCollister, and a short roller handled by McCollister. Her final line was eight innings pitched, no hits, no runs, three walks and four strikeouts.

“I just tried to keep my pitch count low,” said Butts. “I didn’t really care about striking people out, and I don’t think I struck out many, but I know my teammates are going to make the plays behind me.”

“Lauren threw every inning of our scrimmage Monday,” said Norris. “And with this heat, I figured there’d be some fatigue. I’m really impressed with the way she got through this lineup all day today. We, as a team, stay calm and make adjustments, and Lauren is at the top of the heap when it comes to handling the pressure. She’ll keep us in it until our offense finds a way to put some runs up.”

On the flip side, the road comes to end end for Avon Grove, but with only one senior starter, the future looks bright for the Red Devils, who reached the District playoffs for the first time in school history.

“We didn’t get the timely hits today like we did Monday (a 5-4 win over Haverford High),” said Avon Grove coach Vic Pesce. “I’m really proud of these girls. It was going to be tough to beat two different league champs in back-to-back games, and give Henderson credit — that’s a good team over there. But again, I couldn’t be more proud. Our goal for the year was to make the playoffs. We did that, and we won a game, which no one thought we would. Next year we fight for a title.”

The lone senior, second baseman Natalie Lennox, will have nothing but fond memories of her final season.

“I can’t describe the way it felt to watch these guys fight to get me in the playoffs,” said Lennox. “I can’t wait to come back next year to cheer for them and watch them win.”